Backwards
by iHopeUdance01
Summary: Locked away in a castle and guarded by the dreaded dragon Zoro, Prince Luffy waits for someone to rescue him...or that's how the legend goes. ZoLu  Oneshot w/ T for language


Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, just a messed up viewpoint on most fairy tales.

And I'll admit, I watched a bit of Shrek before writing this. Comments and critiques are welcomed (and appreciated XD)

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In the year 500AD, an Eastern Kingdom dubbed the Goa Kingdom would be taken over by a man who called referred to himself as Saint Charloss and his followers, the Celestrial Dragons. Together, they would conquer the neighboring lands to the east and create a vast and long ruling empire. But, unbeknownst to those not well versed in myths and old wives tales, another dragon ruled that area long before Goa had come into existence. That dragon, a noble beast by the name of Mihawk, had produced several sons during his ruling period, and the oldest of them, Zoro, had been given the thankless and well over exaggerated task of guarding the human nobility of a neighboring kingdom. And due to a miscommunication between the human's King and his subjects about the exact nature of the situation, a myth was thought up and a bounty was rewarded to whomever could bring back the small kingdom's missing prince and the head of the evil dragon that guarded him.

And it was for this bounty (a whopping 300,000,000 Beli) that a knight by the name of Don Krieg had journeyed into the forest that surrounded the kingdom to find the dreaded Dragon's castle. And he had found it…sort of. His journey had followed normal save-the-damsel-slay-the-dragon protocol until he had gotten to the actual castle, and had learned that the dragon he was in search of… was currently out stealing cattle from the kingdom he had just left. Not to be deterred, he had asked the strange moat dwelling, long nosed Naiad where he could find and slay the equally dangerous Sea Serpent that lived there. And the Naiad had disappeared beneath the murky moat water only to return a few minutes later with a message from the Serpent (it was more or less the equivalent of 'fuck off'). And feeling that the whole trip was a waste of point by this point, Kreig had turned to leave before being intercepted by a busty red head and made to baby-sit the person he had attempted to free in the first place. Which, lead to the current situation:

"So," Zoro started, "I go away for a couple hours only to come back and find that a knight had infiltrated _my_ castle, hell bent on taking _my_ Luffy away from here and that instead of turning him away or killing him, you left him in and left him _in charge_ of Luffy… what part of this is suppose to remind me of why I put up with all of you?" Four pairs of eyes blinked innocently at him (well, Robin's eyes weren't innocent per say; just less crafty than usual), and Sanji had opted to take a smoke break while pretending to listen to Zoro's rant.

"Well," Usopp, the male Naiad that lived in Zoro's moat, said, "He didn't actually _do_ anything." Which was true, considering that the knight had pretty much stopped moving after Luffy accidentally smashed his head into a wall during a very enthusiastic game of tag. However, this wasn't Zoro's point, and he let the long nose know this with a very low and drawn out growl.

"Don't worry Zoro." Nami, the resident witch (or bitch, depending on who you asked) said with a weary sigh. "Luffy can handle himself against halfwits like this guy." She jerked her thumb towards Kreig and Robin smiled at Zoro.

"You should know yourself how capable he is sometimes." The enchantress (and Nami's magic teacher) said in a reassuring tone. "And for all those time when he isn't capable enough, _then_ we'll step in." she smiled coy and Luffy himself nodded enthusiastically, although instead of driving Robin's point home, he was probably stuck on the belief that the sooner Zoro got his rant over and done with, the sooner he could eat. And after seeing the same reassuring looks from Nami, Usopp, and the smoking Sea Serpent a few feet away from him, Zoro had little choice left but to let them continue on with that they were doing before he came back.

"Fine. Dismissed." he sighed and ran a had through his short hair. "Sanji, cook up something good. The cows are outside." Sanji nodded and strode out of the castle doors, with Usopp following close behind. Nami and Robin, meanwhile, made their way up the central staircase.

"See ya!" Nami waved at Luffy and the boy returned the gesture enthusiastically. As soon was the witch and enchantress slipped out of sight, Zoro walked forward and slipped his arms around Luffy's waist so that the teen was pressed against his chest. He buried his nose into the crook of Luffy's neck and the teen started laughing at the sensation.

"That tickles." Luffy laughed again and Zoro took the initiative to slip his hands under the Prince's red vest. "Hey, stop that!" Luffy said this time, a hint of laughter still in his voice. But Zoro ignored the meager protest and muttered something. "Huh?" Luffy asked, craning his neck to get a better view of Zoro.

"I said 'mine'." Zoro repeated, sounding like the 9 year old he had been when the duo first met. His gaze shifted until it landed on the fallen knight and Zoro let out a more territorial snarl and tightened his grip on Luffy. Luffy, only mildly put off by the dangerously aggressive dragon behind him, reached down and tugged on the dragon's arms until he released him. He then walked over to Kreig's armor covered body, and dragged him to the opposite end of the entry hall and out of Zoro's immediate sight. He walked back over and sat down against the wall before patting the spot next to him. Zoro, in an almost grudging manner, slid down next to the human and Luffy took the opportunity to place his head on Zoro's shoulder.

"Zoro shouldn't be jealous." he said bluntly, trying to look Zoro in the eye despite their position. "Besides, I wanna stay here." he stated and Zoro felt a small smile tug at his lips.

"You're damn right you're staying here." Zoro muttered before tilting the boy's chin up slightly and pressing a lazy kiss to his forehead and drifting off into an easy sleep. And Luffy, feeling the ill effects of an off and on sleeping curse placed on him years ago, drifted off as well.

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Ah well, I fail at endings XD But this was me basically trying out a oneshot for Christmas (Tis the season for Zolu). And sorry if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes. Spellcheck only takes you so far when at 1AM. I also haven't written anything One Piece related in a long time so there's that too.

But if anything, this oneshot is like a prequel for a story that I'll write it I can't just get my mind wrapped around the plot. Until then it's just this.

But just a little note: I used Witch and Enchantress to sort of show that Nami's a witch but Robin's a higher ranking witch. Sorta like a Junior and Senior in high school. That and the word enchantress sounds cool.


End file.
